5 yoga asanas to help you stick to your New Year’s resolution to get fit

Movement is medicine for the body. If we include some form of movement in our daily life, we can improve our physical health as well as our mental health. In the coming year make health your priority and boost your immune system with the help of yoga asanas. Yoga has more than 84,00,000 postures that are suitable for all ages starting from 5 years all the way up to 80 years or even more depending on the practitioner’s capacity!

Challenge yourself

Yoga asanas pose a challenge for the brain and any new activity will help your brain grow in new ways. Yoga has many benefits for the mind including enhancing concentration, improving focus, boosting memory, and so on. With its seemingly never-ending list of asanas to perform, there is always something to learn with yoga. 

This is what makes yoga so exciting as the learning is infinite. Yoga postures challenge your body and mind in many ways helping you improve and grow towards being a better individual. Start the new year of 2021 with these five postures and challenge yourself a little bit more each day, and stay true to your New Year’s resolution.

1. Ashwa sanchalan asana or equestrian pose

• Stand straight and gently move your torso to the ground, shifting your body weight onto your palms
• Keep your palms flat on the floor
• Move your left leg back and place it towards the rear end of the mat
• Ensure that your toes touch the floor and your heel is pointing upwards
• Gently lower your left knee and place it on the floor
• After you press your toes down, extend them out. Your right knee should be in line with your right ankle
• Lower your pelvis down

2. Mandukasana or frog posture

• Begin by standing straight with your arms by the sides of your body
• Drop your knees down on the mat
• Place your pelvis on your heels and point your toes outwards
• Place your right palm on your navel and your left palm on top of the right palm
• Exhale and bend down
• Inhale and come up
• Repeat 3 sets of 10 seconds each

3. Padmasana or lotus pose

• Sit in ardha padmasana with your right foot over your left thigh
• Lift your left foot and place it on your right thigh, facing up
• Pull your feet closer to your hips
• Drop your knees to the floor
• Place your palms on your knees facing up
• Hold the asana for a while
• Repeat with the other leg

4. Hasta uttanasana or raised-arms pose

• Raise both palms over your head
• Join your palms together
• Arch back slightly and tilt your head, neck and upper back
• Ensure that your arms are beside your ears as you tilt your upper body back.
• Focus your gaze towards the sky.

5. Vasisthasana or side plank pose

• Begin in plank position
• With your left palm firmly on the ground, remove your right hand off the floor
• Turn to face the right side and lift your right leg off the floor and place it over your left leg
• Raise your right arm above and keep your fingers pointing up
• Ensure that both your knees, heels and feet are in contact with each other
• Keep both arms and shoulders in one straight line
• Turn your head and look up at your right hand
• Hold the asana for a while
• Repeat the same on the left side

As you become confident with these postures, you can add more to your practice. This will include yoga asanas as well as meditation, pranayama, chanting, and mudras.

When you start with your practice, make note of the level of your stamina, flexibility, and strength. Continue to measure your growth as this can be a very motivating way to stay committed to the new path or journey of yoga that you have chosen.

Yoga also prepares you for life’s many surprises and the teachings that you learn on the mat can be implemented off the yoga mat too. In this way let 2021 be the year you start your journey of yoga making health your priority to enjoy enhanced wellness, peace, and happiness.